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June 21 – Pearl Necklace

Grand Theft

There’s a lot of different ways this shot could be approached, but we here at the Sip Advisor always take the high road… BOOBIES!!! Okay, now that I have that out of my systems, here are the top five greatest heist movies (I bet you didn’t see that coming!):

#5: The Ladykillers

To clarify, I’m talking about the 1955 British black comedy and not the 2004 remake starring Tom Hanks. Sadly, that film has been looked upon with some contempt, but I don’t remember it being that bad. Anyhoo, this rendition stars some of Britain’s finest actors – Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, etc. – as thieves who take advantage of a lonely, elderly woman to pull of an armoured car heist. As many real-life heists unravel, the thieves turn on one another and in the end, the one you’d least expect to walk away with the loot ends up holding the entire fortune.

#4: A Fish Called Wanda

Filled with numerous twists, double crosses, and a horde of oddball characters, this comedy shows just how greedy folks get when potential riches are at stake. The film was a success both critically and commercially, with Kevin Kline winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. John Cleese and Jamie Lee Curtis are also memorable in their roles. Unfortunately, when the stars reunited for a sequel to the surprise hit, they really dropped the ball. Fierce Creatures featured the same main cast, but playing different characters with some tie-ins to A Fish Called Wanda.

#3: Gone in 60 Seconds

I’m the furthest thing from a car guy and even I loved this movie. I have not seen the original, but the remake starring Nicholas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, and some never-heard-from-again woman, is a high-octane thriller that you don’t have to know the make and model of each vehicle to enjoy. Cage plays Memphis Raines, a former car thief who has gone legit, but is dragged back into the seedy underbelly of Long Beach, California in order to save his brother Kip (Ribisi), who has botched a recent heist. To make amends, Memphis and team have to locate and steal 50 specific vehicles in a 72-hour period.

#2: Inception

Here’s a twist on the heist genre… breaking into someone’s psyche and planting an idea that will change their way of thinking going forward. Every scene of the film will keep you guessing as to what the results will be as they explore the human mind. You can’t go wrong with a cast that features Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, and other notable actors. The cliffhanger ending is also appropriate, leaving audiences wondering whether the mission was a success or if the mind thieves failed to make it out safely.

#1: Ocean’s 11

Whether we’re talking about the Rat Pack original or the George Clooney-Brad Pitt remake, both films are cinematic gems and while they share the same name, their stories vary greatly. The basic plot sees Danny Ocean gather a group of fellow thieves to pull off a Las Vegas casino heist. The results are different in each film and thanks to the 41-year span between movies, the technology is so vastly different and changes the difficulty, particularly for the remake. Being a member of either of these casts would be an honour, so long as you dropped out before the remake’s sequels.

Super Saturday Shot Day: Pearl Necklace

I love me a good heist movie… the suspense, the scheming, the action. What’s your favourite? I need to go watch some of these films again and plan out my own multi-million dollar windfall!

Sip Advisor Bar Notes (4 Sips out of 5):
There are a couple variations of this recipe, but I went with what seems to be the most widely accepted version. Even then, I altered the shooter based on the ingredients I had on hand and wanted to play with… kind of like a real pearl necklace! I used Raspberry Crème Liqueur instead of Tequila Rose and Amarula Cream over Bailey’s Irish Crème. To keep the shot boozy, I added some straight Tequila. The results were good and as expected, this was a tasty dessert-style shooter.